We're Not in Chino Anymore
by Super Chino
Summary: I enjoy writing and these are just tidbits from my mind that I thought others might enjoy reading. There are many talented writers here. I hope to be considered one of them!
1. Can I Get a Little Help Here?

It had been a long day. Seth and Ryan spent most of it at the Country Club breaking down the room from the previous engagement. Ryan didnt mind the busy work. He kept moving with hopes of making the day go by quicker.  
  
Seth on the other hand, took every opportunity to whine, complain and drag out the task at hand.  
  
"Aren't there any union guys available? Seriously Ryan, don't you think they should hire someone to do this stuff?" He moaned while sitting on a chair in the middle of the dance floor.  
  
"Seth, you're stacking banquet chairs. Well, your supposed to be....stacking banquet chairs."  
  
"I know but this is so mundane! Extremely boring."  
  
"Well maybe if you complained less and worked more we'd get out of here faster," Ryan encouraged, dragging a set of 6 stacked chairs across the floor. After placing them in their spot, he turned to see Seth, still sitting, still complaining, out loud to nobody. Shaking his head, disgusted, he walked with purpose across the dance floor and grabbed Seth's chair back. He dragged it, Seth included, all the way back across the floor to where the other chairs where being stacked and turned Seth so he was facing the wall. All the while, Seth's mouth kept moving about child labor and unions. A smirk crept across Ryan's face and he walked away leaving Seth talking to the other chairs.  
  
Lost in the moment, and his little speech, it took a bit of time before Seth turned around to find Ryan on the other side of the ballroom folding napkins. At that moment, he also realized he was surrounded by stacked chairs and some climbing was going to be involved in obtaining his freedom.  
  
"Are you trying to tell me something? Yes. I believe you are." Standing on chairs, or parts of chairs, Seth tried crawling out only to find himself about to fall.  
  
"Ry.....Ryan.....RYAN!"  
  
CRASH  
  
Without looking up, Ryan kept folding even where he heard a small "ouch" in the distance. "Put 'em back Seth."  
  
"Back. Right. This stack was a little crooked that's what was wrong," he offered patting one of the chair backs and trying to stand up. "I'll just be over here, you know, putting these back."  
  
Ryan nodded in agreement, again without looking up. Seth knew Ryan could communicate a feeling or a thought with just his eyes. But now he was doing it with just the nod of his head. Seth knew that nod meant "do it or else" and he got to work.  
  
Just before five o'clock, both boys were relieved to hear those magic words from the coordinator, "We're done here. Thanks everyone."  
  
Seth, suddenly filled with vigor and vim, bounded across the ballroom thinking it was a good time to make plans for the evening.  
  
"So that wasn't so bad."  
  
Ryan's eyebrows, not to mention his hands on his hips, answered Seth for him. "There he goes again," Seth thought to himself. "Talking" without "talking!"  
  
"Fair enough. You did work really hard. But let's face it you're more strapping than I am. Heavy lifting really isn't my thing."  
  
Ryan winced. Coming from Seth he supposed that was meant to be a compliment. But a guy calling another guy "strapping" was just wrong on so many levels.  
  
"You should be rewarded for all your hard work Ryan. How about a Guy's Night? No girlfriends. Just us. Maybe a little Playstation. Maybe rent a couple of guy movies. What do you think?"  
  
"Sure." The idea of spending the evening on the couch truly appealed to Ryan. He really did work hard. Especially compared to the other Newport kids who seemed to share Seth's views about unions and child labor.  
  
The air in the Cohen kitchen was heavy with the scent of garlic. Take out containers in all shapes and sizes lined the counter.  
  
"Hi guys. You're just in time for dinner. Grab something to drink and come sit down. This is from that new little bistro in town, Amalfi's. You'll have to let me know what you think. So how did it go today?"  
  
Ryan liked Kirsten's motherly nature. It had taken him a while to get used to it but once he did, it really grew on him.  
  
"It was okay. The ballroom was a mess. It took longer to organize than we thought. Some worked harder than others," he taunted Seth, shooting him a "top that one" glare.  
  
Immediately Kirsten turned to gawk at Seth. "You mean you didn't help?"  
  
"Tag teaming. Nice. No Mother. I helped. As a matter of fact, I was crucial at one point restacking chairs that crashed to the ground after someone stacked them crooked." Seth did his best to imitate Ryan's eyebrows and glare of doom but, he was still Seth and there was nothing intimidating about it. Ryan sipped slowly from his Snapple bottle before letting his hand glide down his body allowing the bottle to come to rest on his belt buckle. Tipping his head back slightly he never broke eye contact with Seth.  
  
Swallowing his own drink hard and starting to fidget Seth glanced at his Mom, then back to Ryan, then back to his Mom again. "Okay, yeah. I knocked the chairs down but I did put them back. I could've just left them there for Ryan to fix...again...but I didn't."  
  
"I'm so proud of you honey," Kirsten mocked. "How many chairs was it?" She continued to rub it in.  
  
"Six. It was a stack of six chairs. It was high and..." he stole a look at Ryan. "Ah, right. And perfectly stacked until I got trapped behind them."  
  
"You were trapped? By chairs?" Kirsten asked in disbelief.  
  
"You know how he is," Ryan explained. "He was complaining and had to be punished. So I put him on a time out."  
  
The visual was too much and Kirsten burst out laughing. Ryan, now over his frustration of not getting any help from Seth, allowed himself to enjoy just how ridiculous the whole thing was, at Seth's expense.  
  
"I think maybe I'll eat alone. In my room. Under the blanket." Seth could feel his cheeks turning red.  
  
"Oh no you don't. It's Guy's Night remember? You're stuck here with me. All night long!" Slapping Seth on the back rather hard, Ryan walked past him and grabbed a plate.  
  
"Guy's night. Great. And who's boneheaded idea was that?" Seth replied, not realizing he was thinking out loud. Kirsten and Ryan were both looking at him in silence with smirks on their face. "Fine. Let the night begin." 


	2. Chapter 2: Guys Night A Chick Free Zone

Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement! It was rewarding to hear I "brought the funny"! I am a big fan of the funny fanfics myself. Here's another little glimpse into my imagination. There is more to follow from here...Chapter 3 to arrive soon. Enjoy!  
  
CHAPTER 2 – Guys Night: A Chick Free Zone  
  
Ryan stood in the kitchen stacking dishes in the dishwasher when Seth decided he couldn't stand it any longer.  
  
"Come on man! Just how much work are you going to do in one day? You're cutting into Guys Night. This is a Chick Free Zone! Come on. Follow me. Walk this way." Walking backwards Seth wiggled his fingers at Ryan as if he was trying to teach him how to walk for this first time.  
  
Since he was finished anyway, Ryan closed the door to the dishwasher and headed in Seth's direction.  
  
"That's it. Yes! I knew you could do it! Just put one foot in front of the other. There ya go."  
  
For a moment Ryan stopped walking and just stared at Seth. Standing frozen in his own position, Seth looked Ryan up and down. "What are you doing?"  
  
With a flick of his eyebrows, Ryan pounced in Seth's path, grabbed the remote out of his hand and disappeared into the family room.  
  
"Dude! What the....what was that? That's it. No more garlic bread for you it makes you goofy!"  
  
"Yeah whatever. You gonna play or you gonna stand in the kitchen all night long?"  
  
"No. Ryan. It's time for me to show you a little thing I like to call Ninja madness. Prepare to have your ass handed to you!"  
  
Laughing out loud, "Oh that I'd like to see! Bring it on!"  
  
"Mock me if you will Ryan. You won't be laughing when you feel my steel!"  
  
"Seth, don't say feel my steel. You're making me nauseous!"  
  
"Don't be a baby. It's probably all that garlic bread you ate!"  
  
Two hours later, the Ninja competition was still a draw. Not only did Ryan not get his ass handed to him, at least 50% of the time he was handing Seth his own backside. Both had proven to be worthy warriors.  
  
"I think it's time for a movie run and maybe some snacks. What do you think?" Seth could eat 24/7. Ryan often referred to him as the human vacuum. He was always hungry and he always wanted more food.  
  
"Where are you going?" Kirsten called from the living room couch. Seeing as her reading was briefly interrupted by a scuffle over who was to do the driving.  
  
"Video store. Snack run. We won't be gone long." Seth countered.  
  
"Oh let me give you some money. Ryan why don't you make some of those famous nachos of yours?"  
  
"Ah ah ah! Mom, this is Guys Night. It's a Chick Free Zone." Seth explained while Kirsten's disappointment was apparent on her face. "Sorry Mom, but for tonight you're gonna have to get your own nachos. Come on Ryan." Grabbing the keys, thinking he's won the war, Seth bolted up the steps and out the front door.  
  
Ryan noticed a pout on Kirsten's lips at Seth's exit. He knew how much she enjoyed his nachos. Taking the folded money out of her hand with a crooked smile and shrugging his shoulders, "I don't see the harm in making two trays of nachos. I might forget one tray on the kitchen counter when we sit down to watch the movie."  
  
"You know, there are times like this when I don't mind you being secretive."  
  
"That's only because it's in your favor and there's nachos involved." Ryan said flatly.  
  
"Yes. Absolutely true!"  
  
"RYAN!" Seth bellowed from the car through the open front door of the house.  
  
"Ah, a call from the wild. You better get going before he comes back in here." Sharing a smirk Ryan headed to the door. Kirsten followed along to see the boy's off. Waving from the doorway, she watched Seth back down the driveway. She could hear Seth drilling Ryan all the way down the drive...  
  
"You're gonna make her some nachos aren't you? Ryan, you're ruining the sanctity of Guys Night. It's a Chick Free Zone! Moms do so count! No chicks means no chicks. No dates, no phone calls, no text messaging and definitely no nachos!" A trip to the grocery store with Seth was no easy task. It was like taking a kid to a candy store and he was just as hard to control.  
  
"Seth, this is Guys Night. Not Guys Weekend. We don't need a cart."  
  
"It's a grocery store. We need a cart. Never underestimate the power of snack food Ryan."  
  
"Seth. Take a basket. We don't need a..."  
  
"Hi ho Silver! Away!" Pushing off from the floor, he raised himself up onto the cart, gliding away from Ryan.  
  
"Take me to the snacks!" Seth ordered. Ryan stopped walking. He tipped his head to the floor and nervously looked around hoping no one was watching Seth.  
  
"Seth. Seth. Seth!"  
  
Ignoring Ryan, Seth continued zipping along with the cart until it careened out of control and crashed into one of the store's displays, sending boxes of Fruit Loops in every direction.  
  
"Andy, clean up on Isle 3 please," raged over the loudspeaker.  
  
Folding his arms and sighing deeply, "Are you finished now?" Ryan asked through clenched teeth.  
  
"Yes I'm done," Seth said quietly. "Can I still have the cart?" Ryan appeared to be shooting daggers out his eyes. "I just...I'll be careful," the child in Seth pleaded.  
  
Shaking his head, Ryan narrowed his eyes, "If you hit one more thing..."  
  
"I won't. I swear. I will follow all cart laws and bylaws."  
  
"No more cart surfing."  
  
"None. No cart surfing here. None at all. Maybe now would be a good time to get the stuff to make your nachos."  
  
Twenty minutes later they were on their way through the parking lot of the video store and a new challenge of agreeing on a movie was well under way. It was obvious they had very different ideas about what a guy's movie was. The discussion was interrupted by the appearance of a petite girl. She appeared to be out of sorts.  
  
"What is wrong with that girl? Is she drunk?" Seth questioned.  
  
Ryan's mouth dropped open and a look of complete shock took over his face. "No. She doesn't drink. That's Jorie."  
  
Whipping his head back to the girl, "You know her?" Seth inquired, confused.  
  
Sighing deeply, Ryan nodded. "She's from Chino. I have no idea what she's doing up here. She's too young to drive. I should take her home."  
  
Grabbing Ryan's arm, "Whoa whoa! You can't."  
  
"What are you talking about? I can't just leave her here."  
  
"Oh yes you can. Ryan, we are in a chick free zone remember? No chicks. I let the nachos slip because that was my Mom okay but I didn't mean to leave the door wide open for tiny little possibly drunk chicks from Chino."  
  
Begging and pleading was not in Ryan's disposition so he tried the only tactic he knew would work. "I told you, she's not drunk. Seth, she grew up in a house like I did. Her past isn't pretty. She's a good kid. Never deserved what she went through. I can't leave her here."  
  
"An innocent one. Damn it. You're right. We can't leave her here. Chino is an hour away though. Maybe she could spend the night. How does she feel about nachos?"  
  
"She loves them," Ryan smiled.  
  
The boys approached the girl sitting on the curb and Ryan got down on his haunches in front of her. "Hey Jorie. How ya doing?"  
  
"RYAN! Hi ya!" she yelled with a big old smile on her face. Throwing herself on top of Ryan with her arms around his neck, she knocked him to the ground.  
  
"Looks like she's happy to see you," Seth observed  
  
"How about we get you out of here huh?" Ryan offered.  
  
"That sounds nice. Where are we going?" Jorie tried to stand up. "Wait a minute. You guys are having a Guys Night aren't you?"  
  
"How does she know that Ryan? That's very creepy of her. Sometimes you Chino people are just...creepy!" Seth stammered.  
  
Ryan, speechless, was still sitting on the ground where Jorie tackled him, shooting Seth looks from the pavement.  
  
"He can't be serious," Jorie questioned, looking at Ryan. "Two guys alone on a Friday night, no girls in sight. No cell phones ringing away with evening plans. Either you've both angered the Love Gods or it's Guys Night."  
  
"There she goes again! Frankly Ryan she's starting to freak me out a little. Her head isn't going to spin around is it?"  
  
"Seth!"  
  
"Come on guys. Let me watch a movie with you. Please?" she begged.  
  
Finally standing on his own two feet Ryan replied, "You'll have to get permission from Seth. It is, after all, Guys Night and this is supposed to be a Chick Free Zone."  
  
Jorie looked at Seth and put on her best pout and puppy dog eyes.  
  
"Well that's not fair. Look how cute and innocent she looks. Is it always this hard to say no to the Jorie?" Seth looked at Ryan for back up and all he got was a nod of affirmation.  
  
"Okay Jorie. You're in. But NO chick flicks. Guy flicks only."  
  
"Consider it done," she agreed and headed into the video store.  
  
"Alright I'll admit it. The Jorie is nice and I don't mind letting her spend the evening with us, but you gotta tell her to turn off the Chino- ness. I mean, is there anything else I should know about her before this night goes forward?"  
  
"No. She's from Chino. And at four foot, seven inches tall she could probably take you."  
  
"Good to know. Maybe we should let her pick out the movie. Guys Night can wait." 


	3. The Trouble With Girls

Thanks one and all for the encouragement! I had to do some "blending" on my end for this chapter. Not following my original plan but it has its moments! There's probably one little chapter lingering after this one and that will wrap up this one. I have others..new stuff in the works...More humor....and more Kirsten and Ryan "stuff". I hope to get it out here soon.  
  
Chapter 3: The Trouble with Girls  
  
Seth watched Ryan and Jorie talking from a distance. It wasn't until they were in the video store when Seth noticed Jorie had the remnants of a black eye. Seth admired the way Ryan handled Jorie. Almost like a little sister. His mind wandered, trying to understand what it must have been like for them. Like speaking to like. They had ties he could never understand. He looked down at the rack of movies in front of him, lost in thought. Ryan and Jorie were ready to have a fun evening. They aren't dwelling on anything and Seth shouldn't either. Seth was snapped back to reality when Jorie caught him by surprise.  
  
"Broadway Musicals Seth?" she hesitated. Perfectly imitating Ryan's eyebrows, "You Newport people are creepy!"  
  
"You guys find something?" Ryan hoped, joining the group empty handed.  
  
"Seth wants to watch a musical."  
  
"I don't want to watch a musical. I just ended up here when you walked up," he grasped for an excuse but found he was surrounded by musicals, documentaries and exercise videos.  
  
"There's not much to pick from. It's 8:00 on a Friday night,"  
  
"Let's skip the movie and go for pizza." When in doubt, munch. That was Seth's motto. The human vacuum was alive and well.  
  
"What about the nachos?" Ryan reminded him.  
  
"We'll have those later. Besides, look at Jorie. She needs to be fed and watered. Maybe she'll grow a little bit."  
  
"Seth, she's not a Chia Pet."  
  
"Does he always get this weird when food is involved?" Jorie interrupted.  
  
""Always. And there's only one known cure."  
  
"Feed the monster?" Jorie offered.  
  
"I'm liking Jorie more and more with each passing minute Ryan! Yes! Feed the monster! But do I have to be a monster? I mean I really don't feel like a monster."  
  
Ryan and Jorie exchange a defeated look.  
  
"Pizza it is. Let's go." Grabbing the car keys out of Seth's hand, Ryan led the trio to the car.   
  
The pier was empty for a Friday night. After purchasing their slices, they found a table facing the water.  
  
"I never knew you were a pepperoni sort of guy Ryan. I think I may have to go back and get one of those fajita slices that Jorie has. That looks really good."  
  
"I'm gonna run back up there for soda. Be right back." With that Ryan disappeared leaving Seth alone with Jorie.  
  
"Want to taste this pizza Seth? Being the food fan that you seem to be, I think you'll like it." Jorie offered leaning across the table.  
  
"Jorie you need to eat. You could even afford about 4 more pieces if I can find a way to fit them into you."  
  
"I said a bite Seth, not the whole piece."  
  
With that, she leaned even further across the table and dangled the pizza in front of Seth. Unable to stand it any longer he took a bite.  
  
"Oh man that's good pizza. Oh! OH! You weren't kidding. Oh I need a piece of that!"  
  
"COHEN!"  
  
Seth stopped in mid moan and mid chew. Looking over his shoulder he found Summer with her head cocked to one side, her hip thrown out and her fingers drumming on her purse strap.  
  
"Not what it looks like," he gargled through a mouthful of pizza.  
  
'Suppose you explain it before someone gets hurt!" she screeched.  
  
"Uh uh...uh uh," Seth muttered, shaking his hands and head while trying to untangle his feet from the chair legs. "You don't want to go there Summer. This is Jorie. She's a friend of Ryan's from Chino.  
  
"I don't see Ryan anywhere and if she's a friend of Ryan's, what is she doing here – alone – with you! And she's feeding you her pizza!" Summer was never good at being subtle. If she could have found a way to shoot steam out of her ears she would have done it.  
  
"Summer," taking her arm and gently leading her away from the table and just out of ears reach of Jorie, Seth did his best to put a new spin on the situation. "Incase you weren't listening, I said she's from Chino. According to Ryan she's like Pop Rocks."  
  
"You're not making any sense Cohen!"  
  
"Pop Rocks – small, sweet and explosive!"  
  
"Sweet! You think she's sweet! Enjoy your 'Pop Rocks' Cohen! That's the only sugar you'll be getting for a while!" Seth tried calling after her silhouette as she stormed down the pier but all he got was hand gestures. Defeated, he returned to the table and rejoined Jorie just as Ryan reappeared.  
  
"What happened?" Confused, Ryan took his seat and passed a soda to Jorie.  
  
Seth caught that "big brother" gesture and, for whatever reason, he panicked about what Ryan might think or do if he knew Seth had sampled Jorie's pizza. Seth looked down at his plate, then at Jorie, then at Ryan and then back at his pizza. "Nothing Ryan. It was nothing."  
  
Ryan read right through the little act, stopped chewing and turned only his eyes to Jorie.  
  
Jorie looked at Ryan and shrugged off his glance rather matter-of-factly and continued eating. "He thinks he's in trouble."  
  
At that comment Ryan turned to his gaze to Seth and narrowed his eyes, "What did you do?"  
  
Now in full-blown heart attack mode, Seth started singing like a songbird. "Ryan it was innocent. It was nothing. It was a nip. That's it. Just a nip. Nothing more. I shouldn't have done it. I was wrong and I'm sorry. Please don't punch me."  
  
Jorie let out a little snicker at that last comment while Ryan's face got contorted, "You kissed Jorie?!"  
  
In Seth's twisted mind things just went from bad to worse. If Ryan thought that he kissed Jorie surely he was dead. He couldn't sit still and even though he had an explanation in his head that would clarify what happened, his mouth was moving 100 mph, but nothing was coming out.  
  
Finally Ryan gave in and turned to Jorie to make sense of what was going on, "What is he babbling about?"  
  
She finished chewing the mouthful she had and sipped her soda before answering Ryan. The delay was sheer torture for Seth. Wiping her face with a napkin, she put him out of his misery. "You got up to go get the soda. I let him have a bite of my pizza because I thought maybe he'd want a piece of that for himself. In the mean time a girl saw us. I'm assuming it was his girlfriend because she had a total conniption over the situation at hand. Now, he's afraid that you're going to kick his ass because he had a "nip" of my pizza which you misunderstood as a kiss."  
  
"That's it?" Ryan stated, amazed and yet somehow not surprised at Seth's melodramatic take on the given situation.  
  
"I told you it was nothing," Seth blurted out. "I think I'll just go for a short walk. I'll be right back."  
  
"Where are you going? Gonna get another slice?" Jorie intruded.  
  
"Um, no. I'm gonna go pee now that I know I won't wet my pants."  
  
Looking at Ryan, "Nice to know you haven't lost your touch!" Jorie admired.  
  
They had spent more time on the pier than they thought and it was getting late. It was time to head back home and think of a way to sneak Jorie into Ryan's room for the night.  
  
Jorie sat in the back seat of the Rover enjoying the ride until her favorite song came on the radio. "Oh! Turn it up I love this song!" Singing and dancing from the back seat she decided it was time for a change of scenery and climbed into the front seat on Ryan's lap. Reaching for the radio she blasted the song and tried to encourage the boys to live it up a little. While Jorie was gyrating, singing and shimmying in the front seat, Seth brought the car to a stop at red light. Ryan and Seth were laughing at Jorie's little front seat performance, until their fun was interrupted.  
  
"RYAN!"  
  
Looking sharply to his right, just outside his window in the car next to him, sat Marissa.  
  
"Oh man she's pissed," Seth noted without any regard.  
  
"It's not how it looks! I'll explain it tomorrow!" Ryan yelled as Seth pulled away from the intersection the instant the light changed.  
  
"See Ryan! See how fast that happens? You don't even know what hit you right now do you? See I had just a nip and my girlfriend lost her mind. I got caught in a completely innocent moment. And the same thing just happened to you. You have a dancing friend on your lap. That's it. It's nothing. And WHAMO! Now you're in trouble too!" Ryan knew that Seth truly believed that little explanation made sense but he knew it was going to take more than that to convince Summer and Marissa that Jorie was no threat.  
  
Engulfed in her own little world, Jorie was still dancing and singing on Ryan's lap. She was completely clueless that anyone else was even present.  
  
"Oh my God! Ryan that's a cop! Jorie has no seatbelt on!" Seth panicked again.  
  
Ryan grabbed Jorie by her hips and pulled her down on his lap to stop her from dancing. "Jorie get on the floor. Quick!" he instructed her.  
  
Seth slowed the Rover as he approached the police car in the lane next to them.  
  
"Damn it. I was hoping he'd make the light. Oh this is bad. This is so bad."  
  
"Seth it's fine. Just be cool." Ryan knew he probably had a better chance of getting the cop to understand why Jorie wasn't wearing a seatbelt than he did of calming Seth down at a time like this.  
  
"Be cool are you kidding me? You have a 14 year old girl on the floor between your legs!" He felt a cold sweat break out on his face.  
  
"But they don't know that," Ryan clarified, looking out the window and waving to the cop.  
  
Seth sat motionless at the wheel. Terrified to even look at the cop for fear he'd see his paranoia and ask him to pull over.  
  
"Have a nice evening," the cop called out and then drove away.  
  
Seth's heart was pounding away. He wasn't used to these close calls.  
  
"You need to pull over so you can pee?" Smiling, Ryan enjoyed watching Seth squirm at times like these when there was no real danger.  
  
"That's not funny Ryan."  
  
"Go ahead. I'll even keep Jorie on the floor so you can have your private moment." Jorie laughed at Ryan's comment. "She won't see a thing."  
  
"Laugh if you must Ryan. I'm not commando trained for survival like you guys are."  
  
After another 2-3 minutes of driving Seth pulled the car over.  
  
Jorie and Ryan broke out into a fit of laughter. Seth passed out aggravated looks to both of them as he exited the car. Jorie hinted to Ryan about jumping in the driver's seat and taking off without Seth. Of course they'd come back for him...later. Lucky for Seth they dismissed that idea.   
  
Arriving back home just after midnight, Ryan and Seth were shocked to find there were still lights on.  
  
"Damn it Ryan! You just had to promise her those nachos didn't you!" Seth complained.  
  
A plan was formulated and everyone got ready for "Operation Sneak In" as Seth named it. It was Seth's job to go in first and distract Kirsten in the kitchen while Ryan snuck Jorie down the hallway behind the back wall of the kitchen. They would then be in springing position to reach the pool house.  
  
"Hey. Where have you guys been?" Kirsten wondered.  
  
"Oh you know. Out doing guy stuff. It was Guys Night."  
  
"So I've heard. Is Guys Night over with?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah it is. It was fun while it lasted but all good things must come to an end."  
  
"Where's Ryan?"  
  
"Ryan? Uh...Um....bathroom. He's in the bathroom." Lying as he motioned toward the powder room.  
  
"Oh. Well, I think I'm going to go finish up my mess in the living room and then head to bed. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Disappearing into the living room, Ryan and Jorie tiptoed from the family room up to the kitchen table.  
  
"Oh shoot," they all heard Kirsten say followed by footsteps heading towards the kitchen. Jorie and Ryan hit the floor behind the dinner table. "Did I leave my notebook in here? Yep, I did. Goodnight sweetie."  
  
"Night Mom." Seth was still standing in the same spot as if he was glued to the floor. Once she left the living room for upstairs, the members of "Operation Sneak In" all sprang towards the sliding door that led out towards the pool house. Within seconds, they were all safely hidden in the darkened pool house. Ryan offered Jorie a t-shirt to use as a nightshirt. While the guys talked, Jorie drifted off to sleep in Ryan's bed.  
  
Seth couldn't help but end the evening with an ironic comment. "I guess a Guys Night gone wrong isn't so bad when you end up with a girl in your bed."  
  
Worn out himself, all Ryan could do was threaten Seth with a look.  
  
"I know, I know. Just kidding. See you in the morning buddy." Carefully checking out the window before breaking for the house, Seth waved and disappeared into the black.  
  
Ryan looked down at Jorie. He smiled to himself and shook his head. What a crazy night it turned out to be. Leaving his clothes on, he laid down next to her on top of the blankets and soon fell fast asleep. 


	4. Girl? What girl?

So my original thoughts of how I wanted to end this baby got lost in the corners of my mind somewhere! I haven't seen them for days! I know several of you are waiting on this so here we go. I'm not sure where I want this to go from here. This may be the end of the road....if the reviews want more..I'll see what I can do! : )  
  
CHAPTER 4 – GIRL? WHAT GIRL?  
  
"Oh, Sandy, please wake up the boys for me. I have to get to the office early this morning and I don't want them to be late."  
  
"You got it," he shouts heading down the hallway to Seth's room.  
  
"Hey Seth! It's time to get up! Let's go!" Sandy can hear mumbling from behind the door as well as what he thought sounded like something falling over. Laughing to himself over the visual of Seth trying to stand up he continued on his way to Ryan's room. Giving the pool house door a quick knock, Sandy entered.  
  
"Morning Ryan..."  
  
Just as quickly as he entered the pool house, he slid back out and closed the door. He stared at the patio at his feet. "Nah," he thought to himself. He cracked the door open and peeked inside. After panicking a second time, he shut the door and rushed into the house.  
  
Kirsten was trying to make her herself a bagel and a cup of java for the road when Sandy burst through the patio doors.  
  
"Did you....I mean....are you aware that.....when did this....who is that?" Babbling incoherently he attempted to point toward the pool house.  
  
"Sandy I have no idea what you're trying to say."  
  
"We have a problem."  
  
"Oh," Kirsten replied while nonchalantly getting the cream cheese out of the fridge. "What? Ryan changed his mind I'll bet. Can't say that I blame him. He'll work harder than ten of the Newpsie kids put together."  
  
"Actually, the problem is a little bit bigger than that."  
  
Pausing on her bagel prep, "Is he sick? What's wrong?"  
  
"It's worse than that." A look of concern took over Kirsten's face while Sandy tried to think of a delicate way to break the news. When he couldn't come up with a way to sugar coat the situation, he finally just blurted out the news in a half whisper.  
  
"He's got a girl in his bed."  
  
"WHAT? Oh no, he doesn't."  
  
"Oh yes, he does. They're both asleep. I didn't know what to do."  
  
"Well we're waking him up for starters!" Kirsten strode past Sandy and out the door. Lagging behind, Sandy didn't want to admit out loud that he wanted to see just how this was going to get handled. This was something that, quite honestly, had never happened with Seth. Upon reaching the door, Kirsten turned the knob in true "surprise attack" fashion. Pushing the door open, she tiptoed up to the side of Ryan's bed. Sandy snuck in behind her as if Ryan had booby traps set up in his room. Ryan, still wearing his clothes from yesterday was laying on his side, on top of the blankets, facing Kirsten. Behind Ryan was a petite girl Kirsten had never seen before. She was huddled under the blankets and snuggled up to Ryan's back. Both were still fast asleep. The girl's hair had fallen across her face but Kirsten was able to see the bruising around her one eye. In an instant, Kirsten plugged the probable pieces of the mystery together. Turning on her heel, she shooed Sandy back out the door. To his disappointment, there wasn't going to be a grand wake up call like he was expecting.  
  
Back on the patio, Kirsten had to wait through Sandy's fit before attempting to enlighten him.  
  
"You didn't wake him up. What happened to all that in the kitchen? You know, the "oh no he's not" and the "let's get him" attitude? I gotta tell you, I'm rather disappointed. We never get to bust Seth like this. Come on! This is sort of...fun!"  
  
"Sandy..."  
  
"Oh no you don't! Don't go soft on me now when I need you the most! We said no sleepovers and that's definitely a sleepover! For all we know, that girl might have been a sleep-under!"  
  
Folding her arms in front of her, Sandy watched the softness take over her eyes. "Sandy, this is different."  
  
All of the excitement drained from Sandy's face. "What do you mean?"  
  
"That girl isn't just any sleepover Sandy. And no, she's not a sleep-under either. She came to Ryan for help."  
  
Wrinkling his face, "Where do you come up with this stuff? We caught him red-handed."  
  
"Sandy, Sandy, focus for a minute and read between the lines. That girl was sleeping under the blanket, Ryan wasn't. He was turned toward the door and she was huddled behind his back. Not to mention the black eye she's sporting."  
  
"I didn't see the black eye. You really are good at this. So what do we do now?"  
  
"I don't know. I don't think it's fair to accuse Ryan without giving him a chance to explain himself. Maybe this girl just needed a place to stay for the night and she'll be gone today."  
  
Continuing to weigh their options, Sandy and Kirsten clammed up when Seth appeared on the patio. Sensing something strange, Seth turned on the charm.  
  
"Good morning. And what brings us out to the patio today?"  
  
"Oh you mother was just telling me her plans for the day. I better wake up Ryan. You guys are gonna be late." Sandy offered.  
  
Panicking, Seth threw himself between his Dad and the pool house door. "You know, I'll get him up. He's really, really grouchy before his first cup of coffee. I wouldn't want to subject you to that at this hour." With that, Seth disappeared into the pool house.  
  
A smile slid across Sandy's face and his eyes met Kirsten's.  
  
"Sandy...no!"  
  
"Just one little bitty....come on!"  
  
In the mean time Seth was in the pool house trying to wake it's occupants from their slumber in a frantic fashion.  
  
"Ryan! RYAN! Get up! The cavalry is coming! You've got to get up! We've got to hide Jorie!"  
  
Ryan pried his eyes open and watched Seth dancing about the bed. He could see what was going on but it just wasn't registering. His mind was not awake yet. It became obvious that he was moving entirely too slow for Seth's liking when he watched him jump on the bed waving her arms wildly and whispering at the top of his lungs. If that's possible, that's what he was doing.  
  
"RYAN!! I'm not kidding! They're right out side your door! One little turn of the latch and they'll be in here! We've gotta to do something!" Like an air traffic controller gone mad, Seth's arms took on a life of their own between motioning to Jorie and motioning to the door. This time Ryan got his point and realized what he was talking about.  
  
"We gotta hide Jorie!"  
  
"It's about time Sherlock! Get up!"  
  
They heard voices out on the patio followed by the snap of the latch on the door handle.  
  
"Jorie! Play possum!" Ryan commanded. Putting his feet on her hip, he gave her one hard shove sending her sprawling out of the bed and onto the floor just as the door opened.  
  
"What was that noise?" Kirsten asked entering the room.  
  
"Oh that was me. I went to sit on the edge of Ryan's bed and I kicked the board under here. I think I might have broken a toe." Ryan could always count on Seth to be over dramatic. Ryan was going to teach him the 'less is more' version of staying out of trouble, especially with parents, if it was the last thing he did.  
  
During this little conversation, Sandy's eyes were scanning the room. Where was the girl? "Looks like you had a rough night by the tangled mess you call a blanket." Kirsten gave him a nudge and a warning look. "You mind if I grab a bottle of water from your fridge Ryan?"  
  
"No. Help yourself."  
  
Again Kirsten shot Sandy the look of death. She knew what he was up to. Cracking open his bottle of water in the kitchen area, he leaned against the counter and gaped into the bathroom doorway. "Is that bathroom faucet still leaking Ryan?" Looking for any excuse to search further, Sandy made his way into Ryan's bathroom. Empty. No girl. Retreating from the bathroom he caught Kirsten's look again. He knew that look all too well. If he didn't knock it off, he would be in more trouble than Ryan was. "Alright well, I can drop you guys off on my way into the office. I'm leaving in about 30 minutes."  
  
Finally making his way over to the door, Kirsten gave him a push on his way out. "There's bagels and coffee in the kitchen boys. Make sure to grab a bite before you go." The door closed and Seth collapsed on the bed as if the stress from this little encounter was more than he could bear.  
  
Jorie cropped up on the other side of the bed. Her hair was standing on end from her adventurous ride off the bed. She looked at Ryan who was trying to hold back a smile, "I'm going to kick your ass for that."  
  
"Sorry," was all he could get out before a smile broke out across his face.  
  
"Be careful Ryan," Seth advised. "I've got two words for you...Pop Rocks."  
  
Wrinkling his forehead, Ryan decided he didn't want Seth's explanation on what that meant. "We better get moving before they make their way back in here."  
  
Since everyone was going to be leaving the house at the same time, the plan was to let Jorie hang out in the pool house until the boys came back around 2:00. At that hour of the day, Jorie would just be a friend in need of a ride. No big deal.  
  
Jorie stayed tucked away out of sight in Ryan's room. After receiving Seth's "all clear" one time ring on Ryan's phone, Jorie scampered into the Cohen's kitchen for a bite to eat. She made sure to leave no evidence behind that anyone had been there.  
  
Sandy dropped the boys home just after 2:00 before returning to work to finish his afternoon. The day had gone off without a hitch, so they thought. Entering the kitchen alone, Ryan ran into Kirsten who was sitting at the kitchen table with files scattered all around her.  
  
"Hi. How was your day? Hopefully Seth was more productive and helpful this time around?"  
  
Giving a chuckle, "Yeah it wasn't so bad. All I had to do was point to the chairs and he got back to work."  
  
Chewing on the end of her pen, she gazed at Ryan. She wanted him to be honest and open about the girl in his room. It was something that had to be addressed. Knowing Ryan kept most things to himself, she knew she would have to be the one to start that conversation.  
  
"Ryan, is there anything you want to....tell me?"  
  
Ryan froze in his spot and his eyes immediately drifted to the floor. His life in Chino taught him that a question like that was usually a loaded question. She might know something and was prying for more information or she didn't know anything at all about, well, anything and it was just a vague comment. Problem was Ryan didn't know where she was going with this. "What do you mean?" he eventually asked, raising his head to look at her.  
  
Kirsten took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair. Raising her eyebrows in a quizzical fashion, "I know you had a guest last night. I just wanted to give you a chance to explain. I get the feeling that's not just any girl."  
  
Ryan's mouth dropped open but he quickly pursed his lips together and turned to gawk out the window at the pool house. He knew nothing happened and he also knew he didn't want to lie to Kirsten. For that matter, there was nothing to lie about. Slowly he crossed the kitchen and sat down in the chair across from her. Folding his hands on the table, he began the story of how Jorie ended up in his room. He could see Kirsten was concerned for her.  
  
"Jorie lives in Chino, just down the street from my old house. She's a great kid. She's not a troublemaker. Although Seth seems to think she's like Pop Rocks, which I have yet to figure out. She doesn't deserve...." His voice trailed off, carefully avoiding mentioning the abuse many kids in Chino endured. "We ran into her at the video store. It was late and I told her I'd drive her home today if she wanted to spend the night. I thought one night being able to sleep worry-free would mean the world to her. Her house isn't exactly safe at night. I brought her here because she had no where to go."  
  
"Ryan, you could have just told me. I would have made up the guest room for her. You didn't have to sneak her in."  
  
Nodding in acknowledgement, he forced a crooked smile and looked down at the placemat. "I didn't sneak her in because of you, I snuck her in because that's what she could handle. I know you would have been nice to her. I'm sure by now you can understand that most kids from Chino have a hard time comprehending 'nice'. It can actually be intimidating."  
  
Nodding in agreement, Kirsten wrapped her head around Ryan's comment. It had never occurred to her that a welcoming, safe environment could be intimidating, but he was right. Kids with a past like Ryan and Jorie's come from a world where nothing is nice. Kirsten went out on a limb for a minute and probed Ryan for something more. Something personal. "We're you...afraid...when you came here Ryan?"  
  
"Yeah. You guys were all nice. I knew how to deal with yelling and screaming and fistfights. 'Nice' was unknown territory. That took time to accept that it was real."  
  
Kirsten smiled at him. For a personal conversation with Ryan, he had revealed a wealth of information. She knew it was painful for him to talk about his past. She also knew it wasn't his style to reveal fear. In a matter of ten minutes, he had done both. Kirsten didn't want to ruin the warm fuzzy feeling at the table at the moment so she changed the subject.  
  
"So Ryan, what should we feed Jorie before you take her home? You know I wield a mean take-out menu. What do you think she'd like?"  
  
At that particular moment Seth entered the kitchen with a look of horror on his face. As if he were watching a mock tennis match, his head bounced back and forth from Ryan to Kirsten and back and forth again. "What are we talking about? Who's Jorie?"  
  
"Seth..." Ryan tried to bring him to a halt before he made a train wreck out of the quality Ryan and Kirsten chat.  
  
"You told her," Seth pouted. Throwing himself on a chair next to Ryan. "Dude you completely ruined Operation Sneak Out!"  
  
"Seth!" Again Ryan wanted to impose his concept of 'less is more' before he kept it up.  
  
"You called it 'Operation Sneak Out'?" Kirsten inquired.  
  
"Yes. 'Operation Sneak In' was a great success. It went off without a hitch and 'Operation Sneak Out' was following closely in its triumphant steps until its mission was broadcast at the dinner table."  
  
Ryan and Kirsten exchange a look. Clearly Seth's life in Newport had been entirely too boring if sneaking Jorie in and out of the house was such a good time.  
  
"Seth, Ryan and I thought it would be nice if we could all have dinner together before Jorie had to go home. Ryan, why don't you go get Jorie, we'll let her pick out dinner tonight."  
  
Kirsten noticed Ryan had a bit of a bounce in his step as slipped out the door and headed up the pool house. She was sure relief was the reason behind it. Relieved that their conversation about the girl in his room was over and that it went rather well. She smiled after him. Turning her attention to Seth who was still pouting at the table, "I'm sorry I ruined your game honey."  
  
"This wasn't a game Mom. This was a very organized stealth mission with a human life at stake."  
  
"Seth. You need to lay off the playstation."  
  
"Oh ha ha! You say that because you haven't met the Jorie yet."  
  
"What's she like?"  
  
"Oh I love the Jorie! The Jorie's great. She's a lot of fun. She's frighteningly like Ryan though in a lot of ways. Yesterday I actually told Ryan to make her turn off her Chino-ness. It's creepy at times. They're very protective of each other. It's like they have this invisible bond. But she's fun. She's super sweet. Unfortunately, just like Ryan, trouble seems to flock to her without much doing on her own part. I wish she could stay longer. She's like a breath of fresh air around here."  
  
Kirsten threw a bunch of take-out menus on the counter as Ryan was entering with Jorie.  
  
"Hi! You must be Jorie. I'm Kirsten," extending her hand to Jorie, they shook hands and then Jorie immediately pretended to brush her hair away from her face in an attempt to hide her black eye. Even though Kirsten noticed this she made a point of pretending she didn't see a thing. "So Jorie, we'd love it if you would have dinner with us before you headed home. I'm sure Ryan probably mentioned that the kitchen is not my strong area so we have many menus here. Pick whatever you'd like and don't let Seth decide for you."  
  
"Okay, so I do get a little weird around food," Seth finally admitted bringing a smile to Jorie's face for the first time since she entered the room.  
  
"Hello, hello!" Sandy shouted just before he entered the kitchen. "Oh we have company." Jorie's smile disappeared in a heartbeat and she stepped behind Ryan and grabbed his hand.  
  
"Ryan, I should go now. I should...." Whispering to Ryan, clearly she was suddenly uncomfortable.  
  
"Jorie, it's okay. This is Sandy. He's the one that got me out of Chino. He's one of the good guys. He's safe."  
  
"Oh. I didn't realize....Hi," Jorie finally offered with a nervous wave.  
  
"Sandy, this is Ryan's friend, Jorie," Kirsten introduced them. "She's staying for dinner tonight."  
  
"She's not just staying for dinner, she's choosing dinner. So Jorie I got three important words for you...feed the Monster!" At that Jorie let out a laugh and Ryan allowed a smile to sneak across his lips.  
  
"I would love for Jorie to stay for dinner. Anything you want is at your command just tell the chief order maker over here," pointing at Kirsten. "I think I'll just get out of this suit while you guys go through the menus. Oh and Jorie, whatever you do, don't let Seth help you with picking out the dinner. The Monster likes to be heard when he's hungry."  
  
"Come on man! Feed the monster! Let's go!"  
  
Pouring through menus, the trio laughed how events had transpired over the past twenty-four hours. Seth did his best to try to influence the dinner decisions and Ryan did his best to threaten Seth with putting him on a chair facing the wall. Jorie took it all in. For what it was, 'nice' wasn't so bad after all. 


End file.
